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  • 2022-02-24 (xsd:date)
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  • Name of Uganda's Entebbe International Airport has not been changed to HUEN (en)
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  • Posts alleging that Uganda's Entebbe International Airport has been renamed HUEN Airport are circulating on Facebook and Twitter. The claim surfaced a few months after rumours first spread that China had taken over ownership of the facility. However, the claim is false: HUEN is the aviation code used by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to identify Entebbe airport, which remains the property of Uganda. Ugandan journalist Andrew Kyamagero, who has more than 30, 000 followers on Twitter, tweeted the following on February 23, 2022: Go to google and type ‘Huen airport’ see the results and have a good day. Go to google and type Huen airport see the results and have a good day. — Andrew Kyamagero Omuntu Wawansi. (@kyamageroandrew) February 23, 2022 The Google search results, which show the two are one and the same, were then shared on Facebook as a screenshot with claims that it was proof the Ugandan airport had been sold. Welcome to Huen international airport Entebbe Uganda. No more questions case closed permanently (sic) reads part of a Facebook post shared more than 100 times. A screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on February 23, 2022 Yet another post published (and since deleted) on a Facebook page with more than 30,000 followers shared a screenshot of the Google search result for HUEN airport alongside the caption: Uganda is sold part by part the time Ugandans will wake up it will be too late .... That’s Huen Airport for Chinese which was Entebbe international Airport (sic). A screenshot of the false Facebook post appearing on CrowdTangle, taken on February 23, 2022 Similar posts were shared on Facebook here, h ere and here . The claims about Entebbe being rebranded are, however, false. Aviation code HUEN is the aviation code used by the ICAO to identify Uganda’s main airport – and has been for years, as seen in this official document. According to the ICAO , the code refers to an airport’s location and/or name. In this instance, HU is the identifier for Uganda while EN means Entebbe. A spokesman for the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) also warned against the false claim. Please note that HUEN is the international civil aviation organisation (ICAO) code for Entebbe airport just like HKJK for Jomo Kenyatta international airport and HTDA for Julius Nyerere airport, the UCAA's Vianney Luggya tweeted on February 23. Last year, a similar claim circulated alleging that Entebbe had been rebranded after the airport was seized by the Chinese government in lieu of unpaid debt. The claim circulated alongside a digitally manipulated banner at the entrance of the main terminal building, which purportedly read: Welcome to China Ebb International Airport. AFP Fact Check debunked the claim here . When rumours of the airport’s seizure began in November 2021, local media reported that officials from the UCAA had expressed concern about clauses in a loan agreement – taken out to refurbish the airport – between Uganda and Exim Bank of China. A day later, the UCAA released a statement denying the claim, saying the government could not surrender a national asset. (en)
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